Brésilienne

This is the first time I've tried to test the recipe from the book 素材より素材らしく―杉野英実の菓子 (Le Goût Authentique Retrouvé by Hidemi Sugino) my friend bought it for me from Japan in September.

I've tried to make Pomme d'Eve but the recipe wasn't his, I might give it a try sometimes. 

Evan from Evan's Kitchen Ramblings has tried many desserts, all of them look gorgeous.

The recipe I chose to give a closure to 2011 was Brésilienne.

A truly elegant dessert consists of coffee mousse, caramel mousse & coffee joconde biscuit.

I have to say I didn't do a perfect job to make the entremets look like the photos from the book.

I didn't have the right mousse rings & I did make a mess with the first cake when I spread the glazing on top.

So, I gave up with the glazing part...

I think the taste is the most important.

First of all, this cake is definitely not for people with a sweet tooth, if you're coffee lover, you'll fall in love with it.

When eating the coffee mousse alone, it's quite bitter.

But the sweetness is enhanced by the caramel mousse & the coffee joconde.

I personally think the Cognac syrup for the joconde is a must as it adds a sophisticated note to the cake.

 Thank you for joining me in my journey of baking this year.

Wishing you all the best the coming year.

Chestnut Loaf Cake

Winter is the time for chestnuts.

The lovely smell of chestnut, the rich & moist texture, the sophisticated note of rum all give to subtle & nutty flavours.

It's great on its own or as an accompanied to a hot cup of tea or coffee.

Also, a great way to celebrate winter.

Wish you all have a merry Christmas & happy New Year.

Cream Cheese & Whipped Cream Cupcakes

I baked these lovely cupcakes for my breakfast last week.

As a chocoholic myself, putting chocolate truffles inside is what I always do.

I usually warm the cupcake in a microwave so I'd have a melting chocolate centre, plus it's great with a cup of mocha :)

These cupcakes are moist, fluffy & light!

Sweet Orange

I designed a cheesecake on a tart & drew it out.

I went shopping & bought all the things I needed.

At the end, I made something different.

Things don't always go as planned but it happens.

The cheesecake is great, I like the orange slices on the side & the ginger biscuit base.

I think the cake will look prettier with the cream on the tart but there was no whipping cream left when I decorated it.

It still tastes great & less calorie without cream :)

Earl Grey Chocolate Mousse Cake

Last week, I made a chocolate mousse cake for my birthday.

I always wanted to make an earl grey chocolate mousse cake & finally got around to make it for my special day.

I wasn't happy with the decoration overall, I wanted a dome shape & the chocolate ganache wasn't smooth.

I wasn't going to post this but it did taste really nice & rich so I decided to post it anyway.

I might try to make this again sometimes & I believe decoration will become better with practice.

I tend to design the cake before getting to make it e.g. the look & the flavours.

It's not always turn out like the drawings but I find it inspiring :)

I draw more often now as I have an iPad which is great for drawing but I rarely show my works here.

Jenny also made me an apple & red wine mousse cake which was pretty & delicious.

Dark Chocolate & Hazelnut Cake with Toffee Tuile

Chocolate cake again!

The glory of autumn & winter is when I'm craving for chocolate & don't feel guilty of having too much of it.

I baked this dark chocolate & hazelnut cake on a cosy Sunday morning.

This is a true chocolate heaven, very rich & dark chocolatey.

It's very moist & dense, almost like the texture of a brownie.

It's best serving in a small slice with a cup of tea or coffee.

I also made some caramel-dipped hazelnuts & toffee tuile for decoration.

The tuile were simple to make, it's fun to see them melting & bubbling in the oven.

Caramel-dipped hazelnuts were more difficult & I burnt myself with the hot caramel, so be careful.

The end result was a pretty presentation of the chocolate beauty.

Chocolate & Cinnamon Madeleines

When the weather becomes colder everyday, it is time for comfort foods.

Chocolate always work wonders for me.

These madeleines are much better than a piece of dark chocolate.

A subtle hint of cinnamon with a rich & soft centre.

It feels really good with a cup of tea in the evening.

I have joined Springpad, it is a multi platform notebook or organiser for mobile devices (Android, iPhone & iPad)

It is absolutely FREE so take a chance to try & spring me :)

Almond Cookies - Malaysian Style

It all started when my sister Jenny baked these lovely cookies months ago.

Since then, these cookies are baked twice a week.

I didn't really get my hands on these cookies since Jenny bakes batches of cookies.

Then there was a week & there was no cookies left.

My mum started to complain & murmured that there was no cookies left.

She is cheesecake lover, also a cookies lover.

To keep her happy, I called my sister for the recipe & finally baked some.

So you can tell how irresistible these cookies are.

In this recipe, salt is a must, it adds contrast to the sweetness & bring out the after taste.

It's so simple yet yummy.

If you're almond cookies lover, you must try this.

New York Cheesecake

If you read my blog regularly then you know I always bake cheesecakes.

I've been adventurous & tried to make various desserts & cakes in the past two months.

I've enjoyed baking & eating, also taking nice food photos.

I then left the cakes & food to my family & friends, my mum didn't like some of them unfortunately.

So, I decided to cheer her up with her all time favourite - a cheesecake!

This is a classic baked cheesecake but it's amazing!

Smooth & creamy yet tangy & refreshing.

You'll love it!

Chocolate & Hazelnut Meringue Cake

I baked this lovely chocolate cake before going to Wales. 

I was so excited about the trip so I didn't get to share this on my blog.

Sometimes when you see a recipe you know you have to make it.

This was one of those, but I totally forgot I have saved this recipe so I would bake it next time.

The problem with my ever growing library, I just have too many recipes on my baking list & I can only make one at a time.

I saw the recipe from a good looking chinese website.

I then found out the recipe is originated from Martha Stewart.

I guess everyone knows who she is:)

I've purchased an iPad app 'Martha Stewart Makes Cookies' when it's on offer, it is gorgeous!

Though I haven't tried any of the recipe, it's fun browsing the pages & seeing the videos.

Back to the cake, the cake is flourless, rich & smooth.

I baked the meringue a bit longer as I wanted a crispy topping to add contrast with the soft & smooth chocolate cake.

It tasted divine & I was happy to have tried it out :)

Travelling to Wales

Walking along seaside from Swansea to Mumbles.

Drank a mocha while waiting for my brother, we went to Caswell Bay for a walk.

The next day, we drove from Swansea to Snowdonia National Park, across the valley, across the seaside into the wood.

At dawn, we waited for the sun to rise at Barmouth.

After breakfast, we started a new journey to the north & drove pass a beautiful & quiet lake.

Arriving at Llanberis, we walked over an elevation of 1000m to Snowdon Summit, one place closer to heaven.

Some useful links to anyone planning to visit Snowdonia:

http://www.visitwales.co.uk/

http://www.eryri-npa.gov.uk/

http://www.star-attractions.co.uk/

All photographs are taken by Yue & all rights reserved.

The Glimmering Night in Prague

Prague Castle at Night

My friend & I went on a trip to Prague in the early October.

We booked the tickets & accommodation through easyJet & got on the plane from London.

We went out almost every night taking photos all over Prague.

The apartment we stayed was within walking distance to the central of the city.

There are many nice things to see & do all over.

Old Town Square

My first night in Prague was amazing.

We had a fabulous meal at a Czech restaurant before the puppet show ‘Don Giovanni’ which I had booked through National Marionette Theatre.

The show was played in Czech but if you know the story you would follow & be definitely amused.

Scenes from 'Don Giovanni'

After the show, we went for a nice walk along Charles Bridge where I caught my first sight off the stunning illuminated buildings along the river.

Lights on Charles Bridge

On the way back to the apartment, we also saw many stunning buildings.

Charles Bridge at Night

Powder Gate at Night 

It was a perfect night to start my visit to Prague.

Some useful links to anyone planning to visit Prague:

http://www.prague-guide.co.uk/

http://www.praguewelcome.cz/en/

http://www.prazskeveze.cz/en/

Public Transport in Prague

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/

All photographs are taken by Yue & all rights reserved.

Over the Weekend

I was busy planning the trip to Prague so I didn't have time to update the blog last week.

I've come back to England 2 days ago & I've so many things to sort out.

The photos & notes I took throughout the trip which I'll tell you later.

From now, I'm sharing a few recipes which I've tried over the weekend almost 2 weeks ago.

I baked some green tea financiers & vanilla semifreddo with espresso.

We had dinner at Strada italian restaurant & we ordered nougat semifreddo with espresso for dessert.

It was great so I wanted to try if I can make it.

I've found some recipes & almost all of them uses raw eggs so I decided to write up my own.

It's simpler & yet delicious!

As for the financiers, I bought a silicone mould from the trip to Calais & I haven't tried making financiers before.

I wasn't sure how financier should be like but I like the matcha flavour.

The sakura looks great too.

Chocolate Mousse with Raspberry

Chocolate is comforting, smooth & rich.

Chocolate mousse is one of my favourite dessert, simple yet infinitely possibilities in baking.

I love chocolate with raspberry, the tangy freshness matches the dark richness which bring out the sweetness of dark chocolate.

Lychee & White Wine Mousse Cake

Mid-Autumn Festival fell on 12th Sept this year, sadly it's Monday.

So we had a pre-celebration on the day before.

I attempted to make mooncakes last year but it wasn't very successful, so I didn't think of taking that challenge.

Instead I decided to make a mousse cake with lychee & white wine.

I love lychee so when I came across the idea of using lychee & white wine, I was thrilled not the try it.

Even though I like to use wines & spirits in baking, I don't like the bitterness of alcohols.

So I decided to create my own recipe.

Crème Caramel au Calvados

On a Saturday, I was craving for custard puddings, so I made some simple yet yummy crème caramel.

The first batch I made was with rose syrup, so I didn't use vanilla to avoid it overtaking the rose fragrance, instead I'd used Calvados which is an apple brandy.

Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Jam

I'm into homemade jam recently.

The jam I've made is very simple, only contain 2 or 3 ingredients: fruits, sugar, sometimes lemon juice.

That's all & it's great.

So, my recent breakfast includes toasted breads with jam, a kiwi & a cup of soya milk.

I baked a chocolate cake one day & had it for breakfast.

Not guilty of having chocolate cake in the morning, it definitely made my day happy!

London & A Recipe

Apologised for not updating my blog frequently for the past few weeks.

My life was a bit chaotic & I tried to set my feet on the ground.

While I'm writing this blogpost, I'm really sad that there're riots across London & across the UK.

I love the city as it's historical, friendly & multicultural.

The rioters & looters not only destroyed shops & homes of innocent people but the fame of London which took decades to build.

I'm not here to criticise nor question the cause of riots.

I wish sincerely that riots have gone & the UK can be in peace once more.

Meanwhile, I'm sharing a recipe of the cherry & mint confit cheesecake.

I've never used peppermint tea in baking, it turned to be great.

The cheesecake was soft & creamy, the texture was silky smooth.

It's very satisfying & perfect with a cup of coffee.

Scenes from Wales